Leviticus 6:18, commentary and pictures

It belongs to the rules for individual offerings in the daily service of the earthly sanctuary, giving the bread of the grain offering to Aaron's male descendants to eat through their generations as holy food belonging to the holy place and not to the most holy place.
It concerns offerings whose blood was not carried into the sanctuary, whose flesh was eaten in the holy place so that in figure the sins of the penitent were transferred to the sanctuary, where they remained until they were cleansed out on the tenth day of the seventh month and confessed over the scapegoat.
As part of an earthly sanctuary and service that was a pattern and shadow of the temple of God in heaven, it is an object-lesson of Christ's priestly service as High Priest which He began when He ascended on high, with the yearly round typifying His work which was once for all.
The offerings it describes were brought by individuals as expressions of faith in the coming Redeemer, as part of a ceremonial law instituted because of sin showing God's hatred of sin and pointing to the great substance found in Jesus Christ.
Its word forever is limited by the nature of what it describes, so the ordinance lasted only until the death of Christ when the shadow could cease and the offerings eventually ceased.

Sanctuary Setting and Meaning

Leviticus 6:18 belongs to the instructions in Leviticus 1 to 7 that describe the main features of the sanctuary service and regulate the priesthood and its offerings. More specifically, it belongs to the regulations for individual offerings that formed part of the priests' service in the earthly sanctuary. It shows part of the daily system of individual offerings described in those first seven chapters.

Leviticus 6 belongs to Leviticus 1-16, which gives the complete round of service performed every year in the sanctuary of the Levitical dispensation built by Moses in the wilderness and later replaced by the temple.

The verse concerns the bread of the grain or meat offering. God gave the priests certain portions of the offerings to eat, with Aaron's male descendants to eat them throughout their generations. That bread was holy and belonged to the holy place, and was not offered in or associated with the most holy place.

The verse concerns offerings whose blood was not carried into the sanctuary, whose flesh was eaten in the holy place. In figure the sins of the penitent were transferred to the sanctuary through the blood of the sacrifice or through the person of the priest, and the sinner's guilt was symbolically transferred to the sanctuary through this act of eating. When the priest sprinkled the blood upon the altar before the ark he left there, so to speak, the forgiven sins of the people of God. This transferring work went on through the year, with the forgiven sins left as it were where the blood was sprinkled, until the tenth day of the seventh month, when the high priest cleansed those accumulated sins out of the sanctuary and confessed them over the scapegoat, and Israel stood free from sin. These offerings brought by individuals were expressions of faith in the coming Redeemer, and as part of the sanctuary services they rehearsed the removal of sin and pointed forward to the great day of atonement.

Shadow of Christ's Work

It belongs to the ceremonial law, which was instituted because of sin. As part of the instructions in Leviticus 1 to 7 regulating the priesthood and its offerings, it shows God's hatred of sin and that sin demanded its penalty. The offerings it regulates were brought by individuals as expressions of faith in the coming Redeemer.

Those offerings formed part of an earthly sanctuary and service that was a pattern, shadow, and type of the heavenly sanctuary. In that character it is an object-lesson concerning the temple of God in heaven and Christ's priestly service therein as High Priest and Minister of the sanctuary. That heavenly ministry is what Jesus began when He ascended on high. The complete round of service performed every year in the sanctuary of the Levitical dispensation built by Moses in the wilderness and later replaced by the temple typified in each year the service of Christ, which was once for all.

The offering it describes is a shadow of the great substance found in Jesus Christ. As one of the rules for Israel's sacrifices, it was a type pointing to the work of Jesus Christ. Those instructions in Leviticus 1 to 7 describing the main features of the service of the sanctuary were not written in vain or without purpose. They are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, and were written for learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures hope may be had, so that study of the verse gives clearer views of the Saviour and His work in behalf of men and reveals God's way, power, and glory.

Meaning of Forever

The word rendered forever in this ceremonial ordinance does not necessarily denote endless existence. It can denote a duration limited by the nature and circumstances of that to which it is applied. Applied to the eating of the meat offerings by Aaron's male descendants throughout their generations, it lasted only until the death of Christ. As a shadow the ordinance could therefore cease at that time, and the offerings in fact eventually ceased.

The direction that God gave the priests certain portions of the offerings to eat shows that eating flesh is not sin. There are circumstances in which it is better to eat flesh than to abstain, because circumstances alter cases.